A single global Shari'ah board is needed if Shari'ah-compliant investing is to be standardised across jurisdictions, according to Saqib Masood, head of Islamic product development at HSBC Saudi Arabia.
Speaking at the International Investment Middle East Gulf Forum in Abu Dhabi, Masood said there is currently a wide range of interpretations of the investments allowed under Islamic law, with funds in Malaysia permitting significantly more holdings than those in Saudi Arabia. Funds listed in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries tend to take a view somewhere between the two extremes. "There has to be a global regulatory board represented by scholars in various jurisdictions, and what they approve should set the standard," said Masood. "The Accounting and Auditing Organisation for I...
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